Kithood
by Cheetahstar
Summary: Smokeshade never complained about having a boring kithood. A series of ficlets developed from a list of words that explores the life of a Clan kit.
1. First

Well, hello there. This is one of those crazy plot bunnies that just couldn't leave me alone. Even if this is based on my BenevolentClan challenge, Herbs ad Claws, it's not necessary to read the challege to understand this.

-Cheetahstar

_**Word: First**_

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><p>"She's so small!"<p>

A high-pitched voice squealed near Smokekit, making the she-kit flinch. She perked her ears in search of the owner but the rest of her body remanded still. An unexpected paw nudged her flank harshly, followed by a low growl and a surprised gasp. The she-kit yowled her discontent at the noises and prods, instantly feeling someone moving against her.

"Come on Tigerblaze! Just let me play with them!", squeaky voice begged. Smokekit decided she didn't like squeaky voice very much. Squeaky voice nudged a lot.

"Not until they are big enough", the voice belonging to the newly named "Tigerblaze" replied.

"But that will be in forever!", squeaky voice replied. "There are no other kits in the nursery!"

Smokekit rolled to her side, lost in thought. What was squeaky voice talking about? By her reply, she assumed they were currently at the nursery...whatever that was.

"Please Tigerblaze! The sun is up and the Camp is full of noise and color..."

The she-kit shifted her attention back to the conversation. Camp? Color? Squeaky voice used interesting words. When the negative response from Tigerblaze cam again, Smokekit felt another nudge. "Come on kit, open your eyes and play with me!"

Smokekit squealed and pawed at the attacker but none of her blows connected with anything. A growl was heard from somewhere to her right, but squeaky voice continued to nudge her. Greatly annoyed by this, Smokekit blinked open her eyes. The harsh light made her shut her eyes close again but, apparently, it satisfied squeaky voice, for there were no more nudges.

"Come on", Tigerblaze purred. "Open those blue eyes."

The she-kit carefully opened her eyes, taking the time to adapt to the light, and her vision was invaded by colors. Bright greens, dark browns, flashes of grey fur... It all welcomed Smokekit. She looked around, finding a pair of green eyes looking back at her. The cat was dark grey with spotted markings, and she was smiling with pride. Tigerblaze nuzzled her daughter and gave her a quick lick. "You got some beautiful eyes."

Smokekit smiled, walking up to her with wobbly paws. Tigerblaze purred and motioned to a pair of bundles of fur. "This here are Snowkit and Robinkit, your littermates." Smokekit gave them a quick glance, but decided that they were not important at the moment. After all, they seemed to be still asleep.

"Now can I play with her? Please?", Smokekit turned around stiffly, recognizing that voice. A dark golden she-cat stood by her, her icy blue eyes pleading. Tigerblaze huffed, grabbing Smokekit by the scruff -much to her protests- and placing her near the sleeping kits. "When she is older."

"But-"

"No buts Firekit."


	2. Play

Thank you Song for following this story! It really means a lot to me. And thanks Freaky for your review and favorite! I hope you like this chapter :3

Word: Play

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><p><em>The graceful grey cat looked around restlessly, eyes darting to every single crevice. The wind howled across the valley, creating a powerful current that ruffled the feline's fur. Long curved claws slid until they scrapped the ground. Where are you?<em>

_A figure seemed to materialize from the cliff's walls. It dropped from its perch to the ground like a hunting bird of prey, confidence radiating from its bright green eyes. The newest feline snarled, white fangs gleaming in the twilight. The first cat answered the challenge with a snarl of its own and pounced, landing expertly on its enemy's shoulders. The green-eyed feline rolled, paws swiping at the attacker. A lucky blow connected with the graceful cat's head, stars shining across its vision. The confident cat took the opportunity and launched itself towards the foe._

_A third figure entered the match before the confident cat could react. Sandy-brown and dark grey rolled on the ground for several heartbeats before separating, pelts bristling in outrage. The third feline held an air of power, muscles buckling under its pelt. The powerful cat smirked, unsheathing its claws and ramming the smaller opponent._

"Robinkit! You come in later!"

The sandy-brown kit stopped his struggle to pin down his brother, who stuck out his tongue. Smokekit marched up to her siblings, tail lashing in frustration. "We already talked about this! You were the one to give me an edge after I tackled Snowkit, not when he pounced on me!"

"But I was doing nothing!," Robinkit complained, getting off Snowkit. The oldest brother sighed in relief, stretching out his legs.

"I know how you can all play at the same time," a silky voice reached them. The three littermates turned their heads to see Tigerblaze enter the nursery. With excited steps, the small cats bounced up to their mother, high-pitched voices mixing in a cacophony of mewls. The black-spotted queen purred in amusement, hushing all of her kits with a flick of her tail. "As soon as the sun rises, I will take you outside."

Before any comment could be made -both complains or agreement- Tigerblaze guided them to their nest. A nearby queen, a ginger she-cat with amber eyes, stirred, awaken by the noise. Upon realizing the source, she gave out a chuckle that attracted Tigerblaze's attention.

"I'm terrible sorry Flaredash," the dark grey she-cat meowed as her kits climbed on the nest. Her fellow queen just shook her head. "I understand. All kits are so full of energy," she whispered, flicking her tail over a black and ginger patched kit resting by her belly.

Smokekit, ignoring the conversation of the queens, nuzzled her brothers, twisting her body so she could find a comfortable spot between her siblings. Robinkit huffed a protest, but she knew that he was just faking the action. The smoky-grey kit looked at the Nursery's entrance narrowing her eyes in an effort of catching anything that was outside. Curiosity whirled inside her and she vaguely considered going out that heartbeat just so she could tell her brothers what was outside. When Snowkit decided to nuzzle closer and Smokekit realized that it was better to wait for them to wake up. After all, who was going to play with her if they weren't around?

The last conscious thoughts she had were full of mystery and excitement. What would she discover out there? She had heard something of the Camp from Tigerblaze, but she had always dreamt of seeing it by herself. It all was summarized in a single word, one so full of emotions and intrigue that had every single kit trembling in preparation: EchoClan.


	3. Sneeze

Thank you Mossfeather for your kind words, favorite and follow! I'm glad that I'm developing the personalities well :D.

Thanks Freaky! And yeah, your neighbors can make a lot of noise.

_**Word: Sneeze**_

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><p>The saddened gazes of Robinkit and Snowkit made Smokekit feel even worse than she felt already. Their Camp-exploring adventure had been cut short after that insignificant (and by StarClan, it really was insignificant! But did her mother listen? Of course not) sneeze. Tigerblaze had immediately grabbed her by the scruff and carried her to the strong-smelling den they were currently in. As usual, she tuned out of the conversation of the adults (Who was that ginger tom, anyway?) and reassumed glancing at her brothers in embarrassment. Robinkit just smiled reassuringly at her before snapping his attention to the nearing tom. Now that Smokekit saw him closer, she felt the need to curl up in a shadowy corner of the den. It was not that he looked dangerous, but something about him made the she-cat nervous. With surprising gentleness, he prodded her flanks and chest, earning a squeak from her and another sneeze. Sighing, the ginger tom turned to Tigerblaze. "It would be best if she stayed in the Nursery for a couple of suns. We might be at Greenleaf, but we don't want that developing into Whitecought."<p>

The three siblings glanced at each other in shock. She was going to stay inside for suns? Surely Tigerblaze wouldn't do that, right?

Missing the final exchange between the adults, Smokekit shouted in alarm when her mother grabbed her by the scruff again. She huffed in indignation when she realized what was happening, but she stopped squirming.

"For suns?," Snowkit asked the question that had dread swirling in their hearts. Tigerblaze merely nodded, letting Smokekit walk as they approached the Nursery. Decided not to ruin the fun for her brothers, the she-cat trotted up to the Nursery but stopped her brothers from entering. "Continue exploring, I will wait for you here," she meowed. Her brothers started to protest, as they wanted them all together to see the Camp, but she slipped inside the Nursery. There was a moment of silence before the sound of pawsteps fading away reached her ears. Satisfied with herself, Smokekit glanced around, noticing for the first time that there was a ginger-patched tom that watched her curiously from his nest. Upon being discovered, the kit padded up to her, his whiskers twitching. "You are Smokekit, right?"

The she-cat tilted her head curiously. "Yes, who are you?"

Ignoring her question, the tom looked back to his nest. "Flaredash told me that you were one of the other kits in the Nursery. She also mentioned Firekit, but she is too obnoxious to make friends with. There will be more kits here, though. After all, Flaredash said that Emberpath's kits would arrive soon."

Smokekit twitched her ear, unimpressed by the tom's strange attitude. She lived with Robinkit, after all. "Now that I know the names of everyone else, will you tell me your name?"

"Oh, sure," the kit said, snapping back to reality. "I'm Dustkit."


	4. See

**_Word: See_**

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><p>"I see something...green."<p>

"Moss"

"Correct. Well, now I see something...white."

"Emberpath's stripes."

"..."

"Am I correct?"

"Yes, you are. Now, I see something amber."

"Flaredash's eyes."

"How do you know it's her eyes and not yours? They are the same color."

"Because of the fact that you were looking at her and not me."

"Alright, genius. I see something prey."

"Prey? How is it possible to use it as a description for- ACK!"

"Gotcha!"


	5. Explore

Thank you Mossfeather for your review! And they were Dustkit and Smokekit talking.

_**Word: Explore**_

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><p>"And what's that?"<p>

"That's the Warrior's Den!," Snowkit meowed, his paws shuffling with excitement. "We can't go in there, but Tigerblaze said that's were we are all going to be one day!"

Smokekit gasped in amazement. Everything was so enormous! The cliffs that bordered the Camp, the cave-dens, the colors...

"Come on." The more composed, mature mew of Robinkit snapped her back to reality. The black-spotted tom signaled with his tail to follow him. Not wanting to miss whatever was it that Robinkit wanted to show them, she trotted up to him. Her sibling squeezed past a patrol that arrived to the Camp, earning a few warning shouts. The tom hesitated for a second, but quickly reassumed his walk.

Snowkit ran to catch up with them. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see!" Their brother replied, a glint of excitement in his green eyes. They started following a zigzagging path that led up the cliff. Smokekit noticed that a rock jutted out of the cliff's face at the end of the path. As they got closer, she realized that it was another cave with a bramble barrier.

"What's this?" She asked, pawing at the entrance. She could smell something inside, but it was nothing familiar. Robinkit padded up to her until he was pressed against her side. "I found it the other sun, but I wanted to wait until you got out of the Nursery so we could all explore it together."

Snowkit brushed past them, flicking his tail. "Then what are we waiting for! Lets look inside!"


	6. Mouse

**_Thanks for all of the reviews! I must say that I feel overjoyed when any of you comment!_**

**_Waffle the Badger: Rainy! Long time not see :3_**

**_Mossfeather of ThunderClan: And we have a winner! Guessed correctly! And I noticed the confusion with Greenleaf. I rewrote it already. _**

**Word: Mouse**

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><p>The yellow eyes locked on her. Those predatory, cold eyes. They radiated power and danger like the eyes of a hawk. A hawk that had seen a mouse. She knew this was a bad idea, but she just had to follow her brother.<p>

Snowkit gasped, pressing closer to her as Robinkit was doing. Her younger siblings trembled, their confidence lost. Smokekit glared up to those cold orbs that dared to scare her brothers, challenging them to come any closer.


	7. Leader

**_I was wondering. Would you like the Allegiances posted?_**

**Word: Leader**

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><p>"It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you." The yellow-eyed creature moved to the sunlight, revealing herself to be a large black she-cat. She smiled in amusement at the kid's confusion.<p>

The only she-kit recovered first, glancing at her warily. "Why should we trust you? We don't know you."

The black cat sat down again, still smiling. "Because I don't harm any kind of kit, specially ones from my own Clan. My name is Ravenstar, just for you to know."

The sandy-brown kit's eyes widened in surprise. "You're the Clan leader?"

The other two kits (siblings, she guessed by the resemblance) gasped in surprise, looking up to her in wonder. Ravenstar purred, flicking her tail over their ears. "Yes, I'm leader of EchoClan. This den that you happened to stumble upon is mine, and I have to say that kits don't usually manage to get up here."

The she-kit ducked her head in embarrassment and her brothers mimicked her. "We are really sorry to have disturbed you. We will return outside."

"There's no need for that," Ravenstar meowed. "You can stay if you want."

"Really?," gasped the dark grey tom with the white chin. He bounced up to her, pressing his tiny paws to her bigger ones. "We can really stay?"

Ravenstar's whiskers twitched in amusement at the young tom's enthusiasm. "You are not bothering me, so there's no problem with you staying here."

"We will tell Tigerblaze when we return! She won't believe it!," the sandy-brown kit exclaimed to his sister, who nodded calmly. So this were Tigerblaze's kits! Ravenstar has to admit it, they all looked like the spotted queen. But there were also many characteristics taken from the kit's father, she noted with fondness.

"You know what I like the most?," the large feline whispered secretively. "Stories."

And the excited high-pitched meows of the kit mixed with the amused purr of the leader.


	8. Silverpelt

"So, what are we doing here?"

"It's a surprise," Dustkit replied, tucking his paws underneath his body. They were currently at the top of the cliff (something that Smokekit wasn't sure how they pulled off) as the sun disappeared in the horizon. It was quite windy and she was sure that she would start sneezing again, so it really didn't help that Dustkit was feeling ominous at that moment. She pressed against him when she started feeling way too cold for her liking.

"Can you give me a clue?"

"If you were like the other kits, maybe. But if I gave you a clue, you would know what I'm planning to show you."

"Fine."

So they settled to wait for whatever it was. Smokekit glanced down the cliff, trying to name as many clanmates as she could recognize. "That's Ravenstar padding to her den with the deputy, Hailstrike, talking to her. There's Owlpaw talking to... Greenpaw? No, that's not Greenpaw. Wolfpaw, maybe? I think that's Brambleshade, but it's too far away to know for sure. And who's over there? Some ginger tom that looks familiar-"

"Look Smokkit!"

The she-kit whirled around, following her friend's gaze to the sky. Smokekit froze, looking in awe. Millions of lights marked the black sky with silvery glows. There where many of different sizes, but all equally beautiful.

"Is that...?"

"Yes, that's Silverpelt."

Under the starry sky, both of them realized that the cold wasn't that much of a problem anymore.


	9. Fluff

The moon shone bright on the sky as Snowkit tackled Robinkit, bitting his brother's ear. The oldest of the litter growled, truly annoyed at Snowkit's repetitive conduct. He knew, of course, that it was just a way of showing affection, but the grey-furred idiot was starting to irritate him. As he threw his brother off him, a sudden movement at the edge of his vision caught his attention. Now, he was not curious by nature. No matter what Smokekit said, he was not a curious cat at all. What did she know, anyway? She was as crazy as the other she-cats he knew.

...well, maybe not as crazy. Analyzing that line of thought, Robinkit concluded that no, his sister was not crazy (at least not much). But still, the other she-cats did suffer from mental illness. If not then why did Firekit had those strange mood swings? The she-kit had always been a demanding brat with strange moods. One moment she was all happy-cheer-cheer with Smokekit and the next one she was spitting venom at that strange tom, Dustkit, Now, he did not particularly like Dustkit, but as Smokekit had taken a liking towards Flaredash's son, he figured that the tom was not that bad. At least he could tune out of his long, boring comments about trivial things. Who cared about the length in fox-lengths of the Camp? Or the amount of prey consumed in proportion of the number of EchoClan members? Certainly not Robinkit. Or Snowkit for the matter. It really surprised him that Smokekit could not only understand it but also add things to the ramblings of that cat. Well, if his sister was happy then he was happy.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?," a deep, rumbling voice cut Robinkit's musings. He did not squeak at the interruption, not at all. Squeaking was for little kits, after all. What he did was to make a mental note not to let his thoughts run free when he saw a suspicious shape at the edge of his vision. A suspicious, green-eyed shape that belonged to a muscular warrior.

"Sorry?," Snowkit tried, not really sure how to act around this stranger. Robinkit narrowed his eyes at this tom. Sandy-brown fur, white chin, bright blue eyes... Now, hold on a heartbeat...

The warrior tilted his head in wonder, the exact movement that Robinkit had seen one to many times on his only female sibling. "Well, I would expect that my kits would obey their mother and remain inside while she is talking to Redstrike."

Everything finally clicked to Robinkit as he bounded up to his father, squealing. "Hawkstreak!"

Heartbeats later, Snowkit leaped at their father, mewling in happiness. The adult tom laughed, letting himself be bowled over by his kits. Two pairs of green eyes gazed down at his blue ones as they scrambled to bite at his paws in a playful manner.

"I give in, I give in," Hawkstreak said, but he remanded sprawled on the ground. Robinkit smiled, overjoyed that he could share a moment like this with both his brother and his father.

"Robinkit! Snowkit! You two come back here at this heartbeat or I-"

"Well, hello Tigerblaze," Hawkstreak redirected his attention towards his spotted mate as she walked out of the Nursery, Smokekit trotting by her tail. The she-kit smiled at her father and dashed up to him too, batting his ears with her paws. Tigerblaze, for her side, was not amused at all.

"I'm trying to make them fall asleep, Hawkstreak," the blue-eyed queen growled slightly. The tom just smiled cheekily at her, knowing that the irritation was just faked. "Aw, come on. I'm usually so busy that I can't check up on the kits this suns."

The queen just gave her mate a blank look.

Sighing, Hawkstreak rolled to his paws (much to the tom-kits complains) and shook off the dust accumulated on his pelt. "Fine, fine. Have it your way. Kits, it's time to go to your nest."

The brothers were about to complain but a look from Tigerblaze and a huff from Smokekit had them heading for their nest. The she-kit followed them after her mother reassured her that she would be joining them shortly. Robinkit curled up next to Snowkit, feeling the familiar warmth of Smokekit joining them after a few heartbeats. Nuzzling closer to his siblings, Robinkit concluded once more that Smokekit and Snowkit weren't so bad after all. Not that he was ever telling them because, well, he had a reputation to maintain.


End file.
